Another Round
by icanhearyouglaring
Summary: Artemis will do anything to prove that her mentors are innocent, even if it means having to team up with her ex-fiancé. God, those old bastards better appreciate this. (An Indiana Jones-esque AU)(Rating will go up)
1. Chapter 1

Slipping into Bolt during the evening rush and hiding in plain sight behind the horror that is college karaoke night had been the easy part. The hard part began when Artemis's massive human shield of grad students letting off steam slowly dwindled down to a few regulars closing their tabs and bidding the stretched thin bartender goodbye.

When the last man leaves and the music turns low, Artemis pulls herself out of the corner she's been tucked in all night, takes a deep breath, and quietly approaches the edge of the bar. She makes it into a seat before the bartender turns to face her fully.

"Well, well, well." Wally stops cleaning the shot glass in his hand and places it on the bartop in front of Artemis. The blazing glare on his face stuns her for a second before she remembers it's well deserved.

"If it isn't Artemis Crock," he continues, crossing his arms. "Always knew you'd come barreling back into my life like the one woman wrecking ball you are. Care to tell me exactly what it is you think you're doing here?"

"Come on, Wally. That's no way to greet a lady," she chides, placing her peace offerings– a bottle of gin from Venezuela and a vintage can of petrol for his workshop decor– on the counter that separates them.

Wally snorts at ' _lady_ '. "I think I get a pass. So, what is it? Come to steal another one of my souvenirs?"

"Not exactly," Artemis says, leaning forward in her barstool and narrowing her eyes, "and in case you forgot, I didn't _steal_ that arrow. I used it to save our lives–"

"And blow up my lab in the process," Wally snaps, his hands hitting the countertop hard and shaking the empty glass between them.

Artemis doesn't flinch.

"I know you're not still mad about that," Artemis says quietly, tentatively ghosting her hand over one of his. He doesn't pull away when she touches him. _Interesting_ , she thinks, running her thumb over his knuckles before meeting his eyes. "Wally…"

He swallows as she tightens her grip on his hand.

"I'm sorry," she says sincerely, holding his guarded gaze. "I am. I never should have left the way I did."

"No. You shouldn't have left, period." He pulls his hand away, as though her touch burns him like a branding iron, and he runs his fingers through his hair as if to rid them of the feeling. "And you shouldn't have come back. There's nothing here for you."

"Actually," Artemis says slowly, wincing slightly at his words, "there is. That's why I'm here. I know I'm probably your least favorite person right now–"

"Right now? You've held that title for almost eight years." He mimes a sad firework explosion with his hands. "Congratulations."

Artemis bites her lip and exhales slowly through her nose, knowing the venom in his voice is one hundred percent warranted.

"Wally, I'm sorry," Artemis repeats sincerely as she stands and reaches for his shoulder, but Wally moves further behind the bar, just out of her reach. "I can't change what I did, but I really need your help, so if you could put a pin in our personal history and listen to me for _one_ second–"

Wally shakes his head and cuts her off. "Just get out of here, Artemis. Before trouble finds you and I find myself out of a living– _again_."

"It's a mask," she says quickly. "Looks a lot like the Cheshire Cat from the fairytale. Barry and I found it in Qurac and I know he gave it to you. I need it and–"

"I'm not giving you _anything_ , Artemis," Wally says, walking around the bar until he's right beside her. He places his hands on her shoulders and guides her towards the exit. "Not a drink, not a mask, not another _minute_ of my time–"

She turns around in his grasp, fists his loose sweater in her hands, and pulls him closer before she resorts to begging, "Please, Wally, it's important. Some _really_ bad people are looking for it and I need to make sure yo– _it's_ – safe."

The door to the bar swings open, making the thin, plastic blinds shutter against it. A man with long, white hair and a patch over one eye strides in with a gun in each hand. _Real subtle_ , Artemis thinks, gritting her teeth and placing herself between him and Wally. Her hand drifts to the inside of her jacket, where her knife hides in its holster.

"If you really wanted to keep the mask safe, Miss Crock," the man smirks as more hired hands appear in the doorway behind him, "then perhaps you shouldn't have led us right to it."

Artemis can feel Wally's hand hovering over her hip, waiting for her to make a move, but she knows who this mercenary is, knows what he's capable of, and she needs more time to think of a plan.

Luckily, Wally's mouth is just as big as it ever was.

"Bar's closed, gramps," Wally says crossly, redirecting his anger. "Get out, and take your friends with you."

"Show your elders some respect, boy." The mercenary raises one of his guns and points it straight towards Wally's face.

Artemis's hand slowly moves from her knife to her jacket's inner pocket. Her fingers wrap around the antique lighter within and she mentally prepares herself for what she's about to do. _When it doubt, blow it up_ , Oliver's advice flits through her mind. _It's do or die anyways._

"Slade Wilson," Artemis calls for his attention as she presses her back (and backpack) into Wally. Her ex-fiancé gets the message to start moving and, as she talks, they walk backwards together until his back is to the bar. "Better known as Deathstroke. I'm shocked Luthor would go to such lengths to find little old me. What's he paying you? A hundred thousand? Two-hundred?"

Slade points his other gun at her and laughs shortly. "I wouldn't get out of bed for that. Rest assured I'll be well compensated for this job. One million for your head, one for his, and one for the mask."

Artemis grimaces and moves her hands backwards until they're pressed against the bar on either side of Wally. She slips him the lighter and a stray napkin as she keeps addressing Slade.

"Wow. That's flattering, but I'd rather keep my head on my shoulders, and I'm sure he would too, so maybe we can make a deal," Artemis brings her hands up in front of her to slow Slade down (and give Wally more cover to work). She hears the clinking of glass behind her. _Nice to see we're still on the same page._

Artemis continues, "We can get you the mask and a map to where we originally found it, if you let us go. The location alone is worth much more than three million, let me tell you. Luthor will try to pay you double, but tell him you're no fool. Accept no less than forty."

Slade tuts, "I'm afraid your proposition isn't as valuable as you think, Miss Crock. Luthor's only one of my clients looking for this mask."

Artemis narrows her eyes, even as she mentally rolls them and decries Slade's tendency for the dramatic.

"If you start a bidding war within _that_ circle, the Shadows will notice," Artemis warns.

"Let them notice. Now, this is the last time I ask nicely: hand over the mask."

Wally taps Artemis's back with the bottom of the gin bottle and she braces herself against him.

"Hey, Bad Santa," Wally's arm wraps around her waist as he draws Slade's attention to himself, "You want the mask so badly? Catch."

He throws the lit bomb towards the mercenary and yanks Artemis along with him as he rolls over the side of the bar for cover. The force of the ensuing blast shakes bottles off of the shelves behind them and sends Deathstroke running out of the bar, very much on fire and not happy about it. A few of his goons shoot at the bar, but Artemis leads Wally towards the kitchen door.

"Wait," he says quickly, before he rolls back under the bar and pulls out the very mask everyone is fighting over. A bullet whizzes through the bar and a bottle bursts right above Wally's shoulder. Artemis gapes at him. "Okay, let's go."

They run through the kitchen and knock over cabinets to slow their pursuers down. Artemis takes the mask from Wally as they run out the back door into an alley. She carefully stows it in her backpack and shakes her head at Wally.

"If we get out of this alive, we _need_ to talk about the way you treat priceless artifacts," Artemis says.

He tosses her a helmet before straddling his rumbling motorcycle. "Less talking, more escaping."

Artemis hops onto the bike and hangs onto Wally tightly as he makes his way onto the busy street. They pass Deathstroke being put out on the sidewalk by concerned, confused citizens.

"Where do we go?" Wally asks, speeding in between cars to put more distance between them and the people hired to kill them.

"Head east for now," Artemis instructs him. "I can make some calls once we get out of the city."

Artemis loosens her grip on him and takes a deep breath. This was _not_ how the night was supposed to play out. She was supposed to get the mask, bring Wally to the safe house, and go help her friends. Now, there's a bounty on both of their heads and a mystery still to be solved. Her racing thoughts slow until all she can think about is how nice it feels to be close to him again. She leans against his back and thanks every ancient deity she can think of for allowing him to make it out unscathed.

As they merge onto the interstate, his voice filters into her helmet and interrupts her murmured 'thank you's.

"Now, I'm trying really hard not to be ungrateful, Beautiful, but did we _really_ have to blow up the bar?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Take the next exit."

It's the first real thing she's said in hours and Artemis can't help but feel guilty about the tense silence that has seeped its way in between them.

It had been too easy, falling back into breathless banter with him as they sped between cars in an escape attempt so familiar it felt like they'd turned back the hands of time. As the adrenaline faded away during their getaway, reality set in and forced both of them to remember they weren't the same people they'd been back in the day. They stumbled over their broken rapport until it became easier to stay quiet than talk around the eight year old gap between them. Artemis could feel the fatigue generally associated with running for your life setting into her body and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't noticed Wally's driving getting steadily unsteady. He changes lanes and gets off the nearly empty highway without responding to her.

"Stop at the gas station there," Artemis says, pointing over Wally's shoulder at a dimly lit convenience store.

"Yes, ma'am," he clips, slowing down just enough to make the turn into the driveway.

When they pull up to a pump, he steadies the bike with his feet and waits for her to get off first. Artemis dismounts and removes her helmet slowly, dreading the inevitable confrontation ahead of her. Wally moves at a snail's pace as he take off his own helmet and sets up the kickstand on the bike. When he reaches out for her helmet, she hands it to him without a word and they both freeze. They consider each other for a long moment under the flickering fluorescent lights of the gas station overhang.

A long time ago, Artemis would have known exactly what he was thinking as he took his time examining her from head to toe. Now, all she knows is that her presence in his life really did amount to exactly what she said it would back when she left: complete and utter disaster. A million words hang on the tip of her tongue but her mouth refuses to cooperate with her and stays tightly shut. She breaks her hold on the helmet, turns away from him, rolls her shoulders back, and tries to remember what it's like to be a goddamn professional in her line of work. They don't have time to fight right now, not with what's at stake, not with a target on their backs, not with the mask in their possession, and _definitely_ not with the curious convenience store clerk watching them from his lonely post inside the store.

Artemis slides her backpack off her aching shoulders and lowers it to the ground so she can get a better look at its contents. As she carefully rummages around the priceless mask in search of money, she tries not to pay attention to the sound of Wally impatiently tapping his hand against his bike behind her.

One wad of cash later, Artemis puts on her backpack and faces Wally.

She purses her lips before she cautiously asks, "Do you need anything?"

He stretches his arms over his head as he flippantly replies, "Some caffeine, definitely. A _bulletproof vest_ if they have one. I could also use an explanation, or a real destination, you know, when you have the time."

"Ass," Artemis hisses, turning back towards the store. "Forget I asked."

"Good evening," chirps the boy behind the register as soon as Artemis passes through the doorway.

His genuine smile drops when she looks at him with a blank stare. Her hair is everywhere, having been blown about by the wind, and her face must not look any better after getting scratched up in the explosion.

He probably thinks she's going to rob him.

Artemis sends him a tired half-smile and nods to acknowledge his greeting before she wanders through the aisles. She grabs a few energy drinks, some hand warmers, and a few other odds and ends they might need along the way.

They're safe, for now. Slade needs time to recover and they've gotten a decent head start, but it isn't going to do much good if they don't know how to get where they're supposed to go. A map out of a wire bin catches her eye and she grabs that too before she takes a long breath behind the soda machine island, the only part of the store not visible from the outside.

Artemis would blame it on the fatigue if anyone asked, but the tightness in her chest has more to do with her unwilling and unwitting partner-in-crime waiting outside. The strength of her raw emotions baffles her. It's been _eight_ _years_. She loved others, before him and after. It shouldn't hurt so much, but it _does_ , because she's finally seeing what was stolen from her. From _them_. It was all so goddamn _typical_.

Artemis shakes herself back into the present moment and slowly walks back to the front of the store. She lays out the items on the counter in front of the cashier and avoids his curious eyes.

He scans the map and hands it directly to her. "Need directions?"

"No, thanks, we'll do just fine with this," Artemis tucks the map under her arm and jerks a thumb at the door, "but I do need five gallons of regular for pump three."

She pulls her money from the pocket of her jeans and glances out the window at Wally. The pacing and muttering she sees is not a good sign. Artemis mentally steels herself for the argument he's most definitely formulating in his mind. _No time for that._

The cashier takes the few bills, counts her change into her hand, and says goodnight. Artemis grabs the bag from the counter and makes her way out of the store.

Wally barely manages to catch the energy drink she tosses his way when she reaches the pump.

"Drink that," Artemis instructs briskly, as she tucks her purchases into her backpack and plucks a few quarters from her change. She puts the backpack on and starts walking towards the store again. "Fill the tank. I'm going to make a phone call and get that destination you wanted."

"I take it they were fresh out of explanations?" Wally calls out after her, but Artemis refuses to humor his attitude with even a single pause of her gait.

The keypad of the old public phone next to the gas station is freezing cold against her fingers. She dials a seemingly endless stream of numbers and the line rings twice before a familiar robotic voice answers.

" _Please state your identification code and enter your passcode."_

Artemis dials the proper numbers as she says, "B-0-7."

" _Identification code accepted. Passcode accepted. Voice verification complete. Hello,_ Artemis, _please hold for-"_

" _Artemis_ , thank goodness." Oracle cuts the machine off. "You are in so much trouble."

"Don't I know it, O," Artemis says quietly. "Sorry for not checking in. I have a tail and I'm trying to lie low."

"Who's your tail?"

"No positive ID yet," Artemis lies with ease. "I doubt they'll catch up to me anytime soon. Amateurs."

"That's good... Wait, what are you doing in Illinois?"

Artemis glances back towards Wally and winces. "Penance."

Oracle laughs. "For what?"

"Well, I was– I thought I'd go looking into our missing persons case," she mumbles into the phone.

Oracle's amusement is immediately replaced by intrigue. "What'd you find?"

Artemis sucks in a breath before she admits, "Not a damn thing. I'm beginning to think they were part of a prolonged mass hallucination."

"We'll find them," Oracle assures her. "We've got half of the League looking for them. It's only a matter of time."

"I know, I just–" Artemis forces a sigh, "I feel kind of responsible, you know?"

"They were your mentors, Artemis, not your responsibilities. You couldn't have known. No one saw it coming. Dinah's a wreck."

 _Sure she is_ , Artemis thinks, as she lets the line hang for a moment. "Alright, O. I'm travelling west, might end up in Star. If I do, I'll find Dinah. Until then, I need to go dark so I can shake this tail."

"Noted. Please be careful."

Artemis smiles. "You know me."

"That's why I said please."

"Goodbye, O." Artemis hangs the phone on its hook with a resolute 'click' (her hands don't start shaking until they're tucked into her jacket pockets). She swallows hard. _I am in so much trouble,_ she thinks as she makes her way back to Wally and his bike.

"Chicago." Artemis answers before Wally can even ask. "It's a few hours north of here. I'll give you your explanation on the way."

Artemis reaches for her helmet on the bike but Wally pulls it away from her. _Oh boy._

"That's not going to work for me," he says, winding up for a speech Artemis _knows_ he's been wanting to throw at her since they left Bolt. "I'm not taking one more _step_ until you tell me what's going on here. My bar is toast. We're in who-knows-where-ville with a bounty on our heads and a _bounty_ _hunter_ coming to collect! I know it's not the first time, but throw me a fucking bone, won't you?"

Artemis purses her lips before she makes another grab for the helmet and says, "I will, but we have to leave _now_. We're late enough as it is. We can talk and ride at the same time."

Wally shakes his head. "If there's a price on my head, I need to make some calls."

"Your parents are on a cruise to Alaska for the next three weeks. They'll be fine." Artemis says, waving away his concern while reaching to pull the helmet out of his grip.

Wally covers his surprise with a quick, "Stalker."

Artemis scoffs, "No, I just do my research before a job."

"Is that what this is?" Wally asks, lifting the helmet high above his head and out of her reach.

"Yes, Wally, that's what this is." Artemis takes a step back and gestures at him and the bike. "Does that make you feel better? We need the mask and you need someone around to make sure you don't get killed. Sorry we couldn't spare _anyone else_ to babysit."

"Seriously?" Wally snaps, frustrated. He lowers the helmet and allows Artemis to pluck it from his hands (and she does so quickly, before he can change his mind).

Wally shakes his head and continues, "I don't believe it. I can't– I can't believe _anything_ you say."

"Are you _done_?" Artemis snaps as she approaches the bike. "You want to be mad at me? Fine, be mad, I accept it, I deserve it. You don't trust me? I wouldn't either! But the only reason you're still _alive_ is because of me so you need to listen–"

Wally cuts her off. "The only reason I'm _in_ this insane situation is because of you!"

"You don't know shit, Wally," Artemis laughs, shaking her head. "Slade would've killed you in a heartbeat if I hadn't been there."

"Oh, really? It didn't look like he owed you any favors," Wally retorts. "And he even said it! You're the one who led him there! You know what I _really_ can't believe?"

"What?" Artemis growls.

"If that damn mask is _so_ important, why didn't Uncle Barry take it when I saw him last week?"

Artemis's sharp explanation dies in her throat and all that leaves her mouth is a smaller, breathier, "What?"

"He could've taken it, no problem, instead of sending you to–"

"No, you–" Artemis holds herself back, drags a hand over her gaping mouth, and starts over. "You _saw_ Barry?"

Wally raises a brow and the ire he'd been standing on dissipates in his confusion. "Yeah, he stopped by for a drink, like, Wednesday night."

"Was there anyone else with him?" Artemis fires rapidly. "Hal? Oliver?"

Wally raises a brow at her. "No, it was just him. Why?"

"Oh, they're so _stupid_ ," Artemis says under her breath as she tightens the straps of her backpack and puts on her helmet before she turns back to Wally and solemnly continues. "I know you don't trust me. I never expected you to. But you have to believe me when I say that we need to get to Chicago _now_. Barry's in trouble and I have to get you somewhere safe before I can help him. I'll answer all of your questions on the way, but every minute we stay here is another minute he loses."

Wally lowers his gaze to the ground and presses his fingertips to his temples, and for a split-second Artemis thinks he's going to start shouting again, but instead he sighs deeply, walks past her, and gets on the bike. He puts on his helmet and motions for her to join him. She does, quickly. They pull out of the gas station and head back towards the freeway, riding well above the posted speed limit.

Wally's voice filters into her helmet the second they merge onto the empty freeway.

"You should've started with Barry's in trouble."


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm sorry, _what_?"

Wally's voice grates through the speakers of Artemis's helmet.

"They thought Barry was a mole," Artemis repeats, slower and louder this time. "It was _his_ work that kept going missing, _his_ missions that kept getting interrupted, _his_ time that couldn't be accounted for–"

"That's just how he is!" Wally cries. The bike revs as they power past a truck.

Artemis tenses. "Wally, they _know_ that. They didn't immediately jump to that conclusion. They–"

"Barry would never betray the _League_ ," Wally interrupts her, the edge in his voice confirming her longstanding hunch that he has not fully forgiven his uncle for the ways things turned out in the past.

Artemis purses her lips. This isn't fair, not to Wally or Barry. Dangerous, truth-filled words almost fall out of her mouth but then Barry's voice in her head reminds her that fairness is a luxury in their line of work. She holds her tongue. She's going to make things right between them. It's the least she can do. It just can't happen right now, here, in the open.

"You're right. Barry wouldn't betray the League. That doesn't mean someone in the League wouldn't betray him," Artemis says firmly. "He's being framed, has been for months. We've been working together to figure out who has been sabotaging his work, but two weeks ago, Barry disappeared without telling me and he didn't go alone. Hal and Oliver are in the wind as far as the League is concerned and trust me when I say the League isn't happy about that. All three of them are being tracked down as we speak. I don't know what the League is planning. I don't know what those three are doing. I don't know who's framing Barry. All I know for sure is this: someone wanted Barry out of the way, I can't trust the League, and I have to get the mask and you somewhere safe."

"What is _so_ important about this mask?" Wally asks, frustratedly speeding past a slow car.

"It's what whoever is framing Barry is after, or at least a part of what they want, we think. The mask is part of a set of armor. When Barry gave it to you, he might have neglected to mention its more mystical properties. The gist of it is that whoever joins the entire set becomes an all knowing, all powerful, master of space and time. You know, the usual. Merge left."

"Yeah, the usual," Wally repeats with a scoff as he changes lanes. "That map you offered Slade. Is it in Chicago?"

Artemis keeps her attention on the horizon and the road signs on the highway. "Almost. I _am_ the map."

Wally sighs. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Barry and I are the only people alive who know how to get to all of the pieces of the set," Artemis explains. "Barry left the mask with you for some godforsaken reason. I have another piece at my place in Gotham. Oliver told me where he hid his. Hal did the same with Barry. The original map, the one we used, is at the site with the last piece."

"You know, that is exactly the kind of plan I hate. Talk about hubris," Wally grumbles. "So we're going to Chicago _because_?"

"Because I lied to the League and they will not be happy when they find out. There are only so many people I can trust right now and the closest one is in Chicago. From there, I'll fly out to Gotham to get my piece of the set and then hopefully I'll be able to find Barry, Hal, and Oliver before the League or Slade's goons do."

Wally stiffens. "You'll _fly_ out? You're _ditching_ me?"

"Of course not. My contact will get you to a safe place –away from Slade and the League and whoever else is out there looking for us– just until I figure this out," Artemis says quickly, not completely sure where he'd be after the storm that is their situation blew over. Better to be 600 miles away than six feet under.

Megan had promised her a safe haven, but whether Wally would appreciate being shipped off to whatever place Megan had in mind hadn't been on her list of priorities when she'd thrown this plan together.

"You have got to be kidding me. I didn't come all this way to get dropped off at _daycare_. I'm coming with you," Wally says, petulantly speeding up to emphasize his indignation.

Artemis scoffs. "Absolutely not. It's too dangerous. You're not trained for this kind of thing anymore."

"I did just fine back at Bolt, and if what you've told me is true, you are in _no_ position to be turning down help."

"Wally, I don't have time to watch your back and mine. This isn't– it was never an option. If you got– I don't– _you're not coming_ . That's final," Artemis says, punctuating her decision with a firmer grip on his shoulders. Truth be told, he's right. She could use a partner on this, just anyone but him. They might have worked well together years ago, but everything is different now. It's not easy working with someone who doesn't trust you.

"We'll see about that," Wally says.

Artemis takes a deep breath, and as the road signs begin to signal their imminent arrival into the outer city limits, she throws him a bone. "We'll talk about it when we get to Megan's house. We should stop somewhere soon and switch places. I only remember how to get there by the landmarks."

"You were planning on dropping me off at _Megan's_?"

* * *

After a string of curses, Wally obliges Artemis's request and she drives them all the way from the rest stop to Megan's driveway. The sound of their arrival doesn't go unnoticed, and it only takes a moment for Megan, clad in plaid fleece pajamas and fuzzy slippers, to throw open her front door and usher them inside.

"You're late," Megan admonishes them, pushing them through the threshold and into the foyer. "I was beginning to worry the bad guys had gotten the best of you."

"Not this time," Artemis says, pulling the taller woman into a quick hug. "It's good to see you, Megs."

"I'm so glad you're alright," Megan says, before she turns to Wally and smiles. "Wally West, you haven't changed a bit."

"Hello, Megan," Wally says slowly, distracted by the framed photographs lining the wallpapered wall.

Artemis sighs tiredly. "Don't mind him; he's pissed at the League."

Megan shuts and locks the front door before she turns around, wrinkles her nose, and says, "Aren't we all?"

That draws a laugh out of Wally; a miracle, even if it is short lived.

Megan walks past them and guides them towards the light emanating from the end of the hall. "Come in, come in, sit down, you must be exhausted. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I made cookies while I was waiting."

"It's six in the morning, Megan," Artemis notes, as they enter the cinnamon-scented dining room.

"Idle hands, you know?" Megan says with a shrug, taking a seat at the dining table.

Artemis sits in the chair across from Megan and places her backpack on the empty seat next to her. A tray of still-warm snickerdoodles sits in the center of the table and she wastes no time reaching for one. Wally takes the chair next to Megan and crosses his arms.

"Breakfast cookie, Wally?" Megan offers, taking one for herself before she leans back in her seat.

Wally picks one up and takes a bite, and the surly expression on his face softens a bit. "I almost forgot how great your cookies were."

Artemis takes a bite of her own cookie and quickly realizes there is not enough sugar on the table to keep her awake much longer. The toll of the day has caught up with her. She finishes her cookie before she shuts her eyes and rests her head in her arms on the table.

"Long day," Megan notes.

"The longest," Wally says.

They share a long, uncomfortably quiet moment together before Megan reaches across the table and pats Artemis on the head. Artemis lifts her head and hopes her eyes don't look as bad as she feels.

"You both are exhausted," Megan says, shaking her head. "The guest beds are upstairs. Use them. Get some rest. You can tell me all about your crazy night when you wake up."

Wally nods and stands quickly, "Don't mind if I do."

Artemis sits up straight and the smell of liquor and slightly charred hair fills her senses. She winces. _Gross_.

"You probably want to shower before you go to bed," Artemis suggests, and Wally looks at her crossly before looking down at his far-from-spotless shirt.

"Oh," he says.

"Hello, Megan," Megan says, bopping her forehead with her open palm. "Shower, duh. There are clean towels in the bathroom. There's a trunk full of fresh clothes I salvaged from the Cave that you can go through, Wally. I think they're mostly Conner and Dick's things, but maybe you'll find something of yours in there, too. The trunk is in the first room to the left at the top of the stairs."

Wally pats Megan's shoulder as he makes his way out. "Thanks, Megs. You're a lifesaver."

 _I literally saved your life_ , Artemis thinks as she watches Wally race out of the kitchen and into the hall. His footsteps echo as he stomps up the stairs and it isn't until Artemis hears a door close that she looks at Megan and tiredly smiles.

"Hey," Artemis says.

Megan gets out of her chair and takes two steps before she hugs Artemis again, tighter and longer.

"Hi," Megan says thickly, "you've looked better."

"Thanks," Artemis says, leaning into the embrace and all of the comfort it offers.

It's been so long since they've been in the same room together. Too long. Artemis closes her eyes tightly. This was never how things were supposed to go for them. They were supposed to do big things _together_. They'd had so many plans and every single one of them had fallen apart.

Megan releases Artemis and walks over to the kitchen counter, laughing at her own reaction. She pulls a pair of short glasses out of a cabinet and a couple of ice cubes from the freezer before returning to the table.

"Sorry for being dramatic, I just missed you so much," Megan says, holding a glass to Artemis. "Bourbon?"

"Don't apologize. Is it that obvious I need it?" Artemis asks, taking the glass out of Megan's hand. "Thanks. Normally, I'd say it's a little too early in the day to be drinking, but considering I haven't slept in a good twenty-four hours, I will take a double. I missed you, too, by the way."

"Think of it as a nightcap. You're heading to bed soon. I don't mean to ruin the reunion, but I have to tell you something. I was able to get all of the things you asked for except a ticket on the flight you wanted." Megan shakes her head, reaching for the bottle behind the bread box on the counter. "I really tried, but we're on our own here and it's a little harder to get a seat these days. The soonest flight I could find a seat on doesn't leave until noon tomorrow and that's after spending two hours on the hold with the airline. "

"Thank you. That's perfect," Artemis says without missing a beat.

As Megan uncaps the bottle and fills her glass, Artemis admits to herself that leaving tomorrow is not perfect, but without League connections, she's lucky to get a seat at all.

Artemis nods for Megan to stop pouring and says, "I'll be in Gotham by 2, my apartment by 3, and on the road by 4. Perfect."

Megan finishes pouring her own glass before she takes a seat in the empty chair next to Artemis.

"So what happened?" Megan asks, settling in for a story.

Artemis takes a long sip of her drink before she places the glass on the table and rubs the back of her head. She pulls a fleck of glass from her tangles. She places it on the table before she presses her palms against her eyes.

"My tail turned out to be Deathstroke of all people, and that wasn't even the worst part of the night." Artemis groans. "The short version is that I had to set him on fire to get away. He might be a little upset about that. And Slade's not only after me or the mask. He wants Wally dead, too. Tell me you have a place in mind for him. I need some good news."

"I have a place." Megan exhales slowly. " _Deathstroke_. Wow. He's still–? That's– you think you should tell Dick? He'd want to know."

Artemis lowers her hands and shakes her head. "I'm already upset with myself for getting you involved. The less people in on this the better. And you know how Dick gets about Slade... I don't want to put that on him. If the gossip train is right, he's going to be be a dad soon. Where are you taking Wally?"

Megan picks up a cookie and examines it between her fingers. "Milwaukee. Marie had a condo there. I asked Gar if it'd be alright if I stayed there for a few weeks and he was completely on board."

"Did you tell Gar Wally would be there?"

"Of course not. I'm not that rusty. I just said that I wanted to take a very lowkey vacation. He couldn't offer the place fast enough. You should've seen his face on the vid-chat," Megan says, snorting. "He thinks I don't get out enough. I think he's just glad he doesn't have to check on it."

Artemis's brow furrows as she fiddles with the piece of glass beneath her finger. " _Do_ you get out enough?"

" _Yes_ ," Megan says, so quickly Artemis is tempted to believe her.

She knows better than that.

"Where do you go?" Artemis asks.

"Out," Megan replies before she stuffs her mouth full of cookie.

"Okay then," Artemis says, shaking her head. "There's only room for one recluse in this friendship, and that's me. Remind me to bug you in person more often when I get back."

The sound of a door opening and closing quiets them both until the sound of a shower running signals an all clear to continue.

"It's going to be fine, Artemis." Megan assures her.

Artemis takes another drink. She must look nervous.

"So," Megan says, "how's Wally?"

"Loaded question. He's _Wally_." Artemis says, shrugging her shoulders before leaning back in her chair.

"Empty answer," Megan tuts.

They both laugh flatly.

Megan points to the ceiling as she asks, "Does he _know_?"

Artemis should've anticipated this.

"No. Not yet. There hasn't been time to get into all of that. Can't say I haven't thought about it though," Artemis sighs, swirling her glass and watching the ice cube at the bottom spin in circles. "It's awfully tempting considering I won't see him after tonight. Then again, how fair is that ? Hey, Wally, guess what? Everything you know is a lie, have fun hiding out, _bye forever_."

"Well, first of all, if you do tell him, please don't– don't say it like that," Megan says exasperatedly, shaking her head. "If you ask me, I'd say he'd _want_ to know what really happened. The truth."

Artemis scowls. "Why do you think I haven't asked you?"

"I'm just saying. You have a chance to _not_ be miserable and you're letting it slip away. You'd feel better about leaving if you, you know, cleared the air." Megan takes a sip of her drink, cringes at the taste, and glares at her glass like it poured itself. "Trust me."

Artemis's laugh is short and heavy. "It's too late for that, Megan. There's nothing for me there."

"You won't know that until you tell him everything."

They soak in the words for a long moment, sitting in silence as both of them contemplate the consequences of airing their secrets. Artemis is reminded, all at once by the look in Megan's eyes and the grip she has on her glass, that Megan has her own ground to make up, elsewhere. Artemis bites at the inside of her cheek until the sound of the shower turning off upstairs pulls her back into the moment.

Artemis sighs as she stands up and places her empty glass on the kitchen counter next to the sink.

"Maybe. When I come back. Bring Barry to him as a peace offering," Artemis mutters, walking past Megan towards the hall. "Maybe."

"Go raid my closet for pjs," Megan says, pouring herself a bit more alcohol. "Your go-bag is already packed and by the door."

"Thank you," Artemis says softly. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.

"Hey, Artemis? Do you ever miss it?" Megan asks quickly, just as Artemis reaches the doorway.

Artemis turns around and asks, "Miss what?"

"The old days," Megan says, a small smile forming at the edges of her lips. "The old team."

Artemis thinks about the pictures on the wall in the hall and the adventures they had and how _unfair_ it is that it all had to end. The past might be the past, but it still means something to all of them. It has to mean something. She's counting on that.

Artemis smiles before she answers, "All the time."


	4. Chapter 4

Artemis doesn't turn off the water after she steps out of the shower. She leaves it running, a bit colder, just so the small bathroom can stay warm and cut off from the world for another minute. After wiping herself dry, she uses her towel to swipe a clear spot onto the bathroom mirror. _They'll be looking for you soon_ , she tells her reflection. Now that the glass and blood and dirt and sticky alcohol has been washed away, she can clearly see the redness in her eyes and the weight of the day in the set of her jaw. She'd nearly fallen asleep under the comfortable caress of the shower. Taking one last deep breath full of warm air, Artemis turns off the shower, opens the door a crack to let the steam out, and gets moving. _Bed awaits._

As she rifles through the cabinets under the sink in search of a comb, Artemis can't help but smile at the sight of a pair of hair cutting scissors. There is a certain kind of comfort she finds in knowing that Megan hasn't changed her mind about cutting her own hair. Some things don't change and it's nice to find consistency, even in the most commonplace of things.

Artemis pulls the scissors out of the cabinet, along with a comb, and gives pause when she stands and looks into the mirror again. The wet locks that run over her shoulders and down her back were hard won, which makes her decision to cut them all the more irritating. _They'll be looking for you soon_ , she repeats to herself, sighing outwardly. She leaves the scissors on the countertop and makes a mental note to ask Megan to give her a trim before she leaves. _It'll grow back_ , she reasons, wringing out her hair and running the comb through it before putting it together in a low, loose ponytail.

With the fog of the shower dissipated, she has full view of herself in the mirror. She attempts a smile, but it isn't very convincing. She tries again. Too much teeth. Again, too killer clown-ish. Scary. _Oh well_ , she thinks, leaning against the sink, lowly laughing at herself. This time, the smile she sees is genuine.

She only gets to appreciate it for a second before the door to the bathroom opens wide.

"Oh, what–"

A chill runs up Artemis's bare back and the smile she once admired is immediately replaced by an angry scream.

"Don't you know how to _knock_?!" Artemis shouts, pulling her towel off of the counter and over herself.

"I didn't– I thought you were out. The door was open– Don't worry, I–" Wally cuts himself off, narrowing his eyes at something in the mirror behind her.

Artemis looks back and can tell that his eyes have honed in on the tiger tattoo running up her spine. That _definitely_ wasn't there the last time they saw each other.

"Get out!" Artemis yells, securing her towel so it covers the middle of her back, too. "Get out, get out!"

"I'm out!"

The door closes and Wally is out before Artemis can launch the nearest soap bottle at him. Breathing hard, Artemis drops her towel and puts her– _Megan's_ – clothes on with harried tugs. She curses in a rhythm in an attempt to slow her breathing, and it works _marvelously_ well.

The tattoo on her back was a gift from a friend, meant to remind her of her strength. The brand hidden beneath the tattoo had been bestowed upon her as a painful reminder to never have a weakness. These days, she forgets they're there, but that doesn't mean she's alright with the world knowing. There were only a handful of people who'd seen it, and adding Wally to the pack felt like a step in a direction she didn't want to go. Not quite backwards, but definitely not forward. If she had to give it a name, she'd call it _worse_.

Once dressed, Artemis rubs her palms against her temples and groans. _Bed. Let it go, and go to bed._

* * *

Easier thought than done, Artemis realizes, once she enters the guest room and finds Wally sitting at the edge of the bed at the far side of the room. The way his leg bounces up and down tells her _bed_ is still a ways away.

"You know," he starts, looking away from his clasped hands to her, "I think I've been pretty cool about this up until now, but I've had enough of being dragged across state lines without saying anything."

Artemis raises a brow. "Does throwing a tantrum at the gas station qualify as cool in your book?"

"I came home and you didn't," he says, so quickly it feels like a lash against her skin.

"What?" Artemis's heart hammers in her chest. _Oh, he's going there._

"I came home and you didn't," Wally repeats, glaring at her. "I put a pin in it earlier, but that pin is coming out _right now_."

Artemis bites her lip before she asks, "Can't this wait until _after_ we sleep?"

"No, I've waited long enough to get answers," Wally says, pressing on. "Eight years ago, you said you'd meet me at home after you talked to the board. I was upset, so I did what you said. I got in the car and took the long way home. I drove in circles, for hours, because I didn't want to get home and take out what had happened in the lab on you."

 _So that's where you were. How thoughtful_ , Artemis thinks, adding the fact to her own recollection of the events of that night.

"I kept thinking that, sure, maybe I'd just lost my lab, my career, my friends, but at least I still had you," he says, before he looks at a spot on the wall just behind her. "All I needed was you."

Artemis take a seat at the edge of the bed nearest the door and says, "Wally, I–"

"I'm not done," he says, snapping his heated gaze back to her. "I got home and you weren't there, so I waited. I called, left messages. I even called the base, after all of that, and no one would say anything. I called Barry and got _nothing_. After a week, Dick showed up and told me you wanted me to stop looking for you. After that, I figured out that I didn't need you after all."

"Done?" Artemis asks roughly, burying her hurt beneath her crossed arms.

"No," Wally bites out. "What did I do? We were going to get _married_! How could you just _leave_ like that? I've spent so much time trying to figure it out, but nothing makes sense except that you picked the League over me, just like Barry did, just like _everyone_ else. And– and what now? You can't do this to me. You can't just– upend my life and send me away. You don't get to disappear without telling me what happened, why you left in the first place. I won't let it happen. You owe me that much, and it's my turn to be selfish."

" _Selfish_?" Artemis asks lowly, her heart pounding in her ears. "You know, I am so tired. I have slept maybe twenty minutes in the last two days trying to save you from becoming a mounted head on someone's wall and all you've done is give me a hard time. And at first, it was _fine_. I deserved it. You were surprised and upset, so I let you. But if there is one thing I _don't_ deserve to be called today, it's _selfish_. Do you really want to know the truth?"

" _Yes_ ," Wally says, almost shouting as he presses his shaking hands into the bed beneath him.

"Then just remember you're the one who wanted to know right now," Artemis says, pulling her legs up onto the bed and resting her crossed arms atop her knees. "Ass."

"I did go home," Artemis says, watching Wally's grip tighten on the comforter. "I went home. I waited for you to get there. While I was waiting, I noticed a car parked outside. I had a– a _feeling_ – so I went to check it out. So _stupid_. Next thing I knew, I was in the trunk. They drove for a long time, I think–" Artemis nods to herself slowly– "That part was fuzzy."

The crease between Wally's eyebrows softens slightly as she speaks.

"They stopped at a bridge and put me in the back seat before they drove back to the block. They took off my blindfold and gave me two options: help the Shadows or watch them burn the house down with you in it." Artemis closes her eyes and sighs. "Drove by the house a few years ago. The new owners added a hedge fence. It's so ugly."

Wally doesn't say anything to that, so Artemis continues.

"They took me to some base in New Orleans. It took me a week to get a message out to Dick. He told you to stop looking for me because I asked him to, that much is true, but he couldn't tell you the real reason why. It was better if you didn't know. _Safer_ , considering you had just burned all of your bridges with the League. If you tried anything or the League got involved, my cover would have been blown."

Wally's question comes out more like a cough. "Cover?"

"The Shadows had _no idea_ I was affiliated with the League. They wanted me to tell them everything I knew about my dad's old contacts, and to retrieve the artifacts he'd sold to them," Artemis says, absently moving her hands up and down her shins. "When I told Dick, he agreed that I should stay and make sure none of the most important things ended up with the Shadows. I was there to play them."

"The plan had been to stay for two months, just long enough to get through the list of people I could remember, but of course, that didn't happen. My cover got blown halfway down the list. I had to go all in or–... Long story short is I got stuck in the Shadows for almost a _year_. Kaldur had to get in, just to pull me out safely. And when I got out, I wasn't ready to– jump back into my old life. I couldn't. There was nothing _there_ anymore." Artemis speaks faster and her hands still. "It took me a _long time_ to work through everything that happened while I was in the Shadows, and once I did, I wasn't the same person."

Wally stands and waves his hands as he says, "You could have said that, _back then_. At _any_ point. They could have told me you were– Barry could have– You could have _told me_ –"

Artemis quickly moves off of the bed and stands, and she throws her hands up as she asks, " _How_? How could I come back to you after _years_? Even if you didn't hate me for leaving and lying, I couldn't be the person you knew before. I'm _not_ that person anymore. And you– you'd just opened up _Bolt_! You were starting a new life– I couldn't–... I stayed as far away as I could because it was the right thing to do. I wasn't– I wasn't trying to be _selfish_."

Artemis sits back down on the edge of her bed and crosses her arms. "If the last twelve hours have proven anything, it's that we were both right. You were better off without me."

"I never said that," Wally says quickly, the crease between his brows returning in full force as he scowls down at her. "You didn't know that."

"Maybe things would have been different had I come back, if I had told you, or if Dick hadn't listened to me, and maybe they wouldn't have. Maybe we'd both be dead. No one knows. All I know is that I can't change the choices I made. I'm sorry. I _am_. You never deserved that, or _this_ ," Artemis says, waving her hand at the room.

"Look, after tomorrow, you won't have to see me again, but you will see Barry. I hope you'll give him a chance to explain his side of things because we– we never picked the League over you. Even if it doesn't feel like it," Artemis pauses and makes sure to hold his gaze as she says, "we picked _you_."

"I can't believe this," Wally says roughly, holding a hand to his head as he starts pacing at the end of the bed. He mumbles to himself. "I was– I spent– all that time– _Fuck_."

Wally stops his pacing only to look at her, his face twisted in an unreadable expression as the rest of him tenses. His chest rises and falls erratically with his uneven breaths until he takes one long breath, holds it, and exhales slowly through his nose. The tension slips away from his person with each passing second, until all that remains is the slightest shake of his head as he moves to stand in front of her.

Artemis expects him to say something, so when he doesn't and takes a seat beside her on the edge of the bed, she's a little lost for words. He sits awfully close, but just far enough to keep a fraction of distance between them. Artemis doesn't breathe or move or blink, unsure if he'll make a break for it if she does.

"That was a lot," Wally says, after a long moment of looking down.

"Yeah," Artemis agrees, releasing her breath. "You asked for it."

"I know," he says, and his shoulder drifts to the side just enough to close the distance between them.

Artemis leans into the gesture, and even though they'd been practically painted against each other on the motorcycle earlier, this is the closest she's felt to him since coming back into his life.

After a minute of contemplation, Wally takes a deep breath and stands up. He rubs at his shoulder and yawns.

"I'm going to go, uh, get a glass of water," he says, pointing at the door unnecessarily.

"Okay," Artemis says, slowly scooting higher up in her bed.

"You should get some rest," he suggests, as he slowly walks towards the door.

Artemis nods. "Yeah."

After he opens the door, Wally lingers in the doorway long enough for Artemis to catch his shoulders shaking.

"You didn't deserve this either, Artemis," Wally finally says, in an effort-filled whisper, just before he shuts the door behind him.

 _Oh._

Artemis lies down on her bed, not bothering to get underneath the blankets. _That just happened_. She rests her head on a pillow and stares up at the ceiling. It's not until she feels something wet fall into her ear that she notices the large tears making trails down the sides of her face.

 _That was a lot_ , Artemis tells herself, as she turns onto her side and shuts her eyes. _A lot._

Still, she falls asleep faster than she has in a long, long time.


	5. Chapter 5

Wally never comes back, if the untouched bed Artemis wakes up to is any indication. Artemis sits up in her own bed and yawns. She stretches her arms towards the ceiling and immediately regrets it. The bumps and bruises she'd catalogued on her body during her shower translate into sore limbs and aching bones as she slowly gets out of bed.

The Hello Kitty clock on the wall says it's late in the afternoon, and despite the soreness, Artemis feels like she's slept for a day and half instead of a few hours. She'll never say it out loud, but Megan was right. Telling Wally the truth (even if it _was_ an abridged version) made Artemis feel better, lighter, clearer.

Artemis leaves the guest room slowly, taking care to step lightly and listen carefully to the sounds of pans clanging and people talking emanating from downstairs. Her mouth waters as she reaches the staircase and the lingering scent of spices and cookies fills the air.

The conversation in the kitchen comes to an abrupt end the second Artemis reaches the bottom of the staircase.

"Hi?" Artemis says, slowly entering the kitchen. "Breakfast for dinner?"

Megan and Wally, seated at opposite ends of the kitchen table, look at her, then to each other. Without a word, each of them gestures for the other to say something.

Artemis narrows her eyes as she approaches a cabinet, pulls out a glass, and asks, "What's up with you two?"

Megan sighs into her novelty mug and takes a long sip of coffee. Wally shoves a piece of pancake into his mouth to keep from answering.

Artemis opens the refrigerator and pulls out a carton of orange juice before she looks at them again and sighs, "Spit it out."

Megan puts on a brave face before she tells Artemis, "He's going with you."

Artemis laughs as she pours her juice into her glass. "No _,_ really, what's going on?"

Megan's eyes are far too serious for this kind of joke. She should work on her delivery. It has to be a joke.

"You're joking," Artemis says, because, well, Megan _has_ to be.

Megan shakes her head. "Nope. He's going. I already bought him a ticket on your flight."

Artemis puts the carton of orange juice back into the refrigerator and closes the door before she spins around to face them.

" _No_ ," Artemis says, shaking her head and pointing her full glass towards them, "we had a plan. Cancel it. Get your money back, right now. You should have asked me before you did that."

"If we had asked, you would've said no," Wally says, sticking his fork into his last piece of pancake.

"Because you _can't_ come," Artemis says, gesturing at him. "You're a liability! You're– You're out of practice, you don't know how things work anymore, and it's hard enough watching my _own_ back without having to watch yours too."

"I didn't forget _everything_ ," Wally snaps back, pointing his empty fork at her. "Need I remind you _I_ was Barry's golden child _long_ before you came along? I'm a little rusty, not useless."

"I never said useless," Artemis says, her eyebrow twitching. "I just can't work with rusty right now."

"Oh, stop it, Artemis. You need backup and he's all you've got for now," Megan says sternly, crossing her arms. "It's only fair that he goes. It's his _family_."

Artemis exhales through her nose as she gives Megan her best ' _how dare you'_ look. She places her glass on the table and takes a seat, as she gnashes her teeth and switches her sight between the traitor and the attempted stowaway in front of her. _Can't even wake up and get a fucking glass of juice without the universe working against me._

Artemis doesn't say a word as she quickly reaches across the table and plucks Wally's butter knife from his plate. She stands up and rounds the corner of the table before either of the redheads can make a move.

Artemis holds the tip of the knife to Wally's back and quietly asks, "Now what do you do?"

There's a moment of silence in the kitchen before all hell breaks loose.

Artemis stumbles backwards as Wally turns to the side and practically throws the chair back into her legs. His hand catches her arm as she swings the knife forward and he bumps into the table hard enough to knock her glass of juice over. Artemis bodily forces him back against the table but Wally uses her force against her, twists, and both of them fall onto the rug covered floor. Megan's squeals as she tries to steady and clear the table go unheard, as the others get too wrapped up in fighting to give her a chance to save her dishes.

After wrestling her arm out of Wally's grasp, Artemis drops the knife in favor of using both hands to go for his neck. She manages to reach it for a moment before Wally uses his legs to grab and flip her behind his head. Artemis rolls with the sudden change in direction and releases him in order to put some distance between them, a tough endeavor considering Megan's dining space is so sparse. Wally uses the table to help him get off the floor. Artemis pops up and charges him before he can fully stand, but as she nears, he sits on the table, uses her momentum against her, and pushes her past him, face first into the wall.

Artemis doesn't hit the wall, but she acts as if she did. _Now what do you do?_ she thinks, reaching into the imaginary holster at her belt and turning quickly. She moves her fingers into the form of an imaginary gun and swings around to face Wally.

" _Bang_ , you're dead," Artemis says, her fingers pointing to the space between his eyes.

"Not quite," Wally huffs, showing her the butter knife palmed in his hand. "If this had been real, you would've felt that in your back before you ever pulled your gun out."

"Seriously?!" Megan shouts, clutching her coffee mug to her chest. "You couldn't wait to do this in the backyard?"

Artemis slowly lowers her hand and crosses her arms as she looks around the room. She hadn't seen him pick up the knife she dropped. In a real fight, she wouldn't have dropped it, but she needed to know for certain if he still had that instinct to think on his feet. Artemis bites the inside of her cheek as she internally groans. He'd passed her damn test.

"You're still rusty," Artemis finally says, settling her gaze on Wally.

"So I can go?" he asks, tossing the knife onto the kitchen table.

"After all of that?" Megan asks, quickly plucking the knife and other dishes from the table and placing them in the sink. "He'd better be going."

"You can come," Artemis says, already regretting it. She walks to the fallen chair and fixes it back into place at the table as she continues, "You're going to need a standard go-bag. No loud clothes. I'm tempted to dye your hair once we get to my apartment."

"Not happening," Wally says, walking around the table and grabbing a kitchen rag to clean the juice on the floor.

"It's a thought." Artemis shrugs as she retakes her seat at the table. "Sorry about the mess, Megan."

"It's alright. Nothing is broken," Megan says, sitting at the table with her mug held safely in her hands.

Wally takes his seat with a heavy plop and says, "This time."

Megan looks up from her mug and a small ' _hm'_ escapes her lips.

"Hm, what?" Artemis asks, sitting up straighter in her seat.

"Nothing," Megan says, slowly smiling. "It's just– _Now what do you do?_ Haven't heard that one in awhile."

Artemis looks down at the table before she laughs shortly. ' _Now what do you do_ ' had been a cross between a team training exercise and a game of tag back in the early days of their League apprenticeships. Their mentors _hated it_.

"Remember that time we got Dick to jump off the chandelier?" Artemis asks, looking from Megan to Wally.

"Oh, and it _fell–_ " Megan laughs, her eyes lighting up. "Right in the foyer! The whole thing crashed straight down–"

Wally snickers as he cuts in and says, "And everyone _scattered_. I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. I swear I thought Alfred was going to pull out the rest of his hair right then and there."

Artemis smiles with the other two at the table, all the while contemplating the ramifications of her decision. Her eyes linger on Wally as he goes into detail about the tiny sliver of crystal he swears is still embedded somewhere in his palm from that day.

 _What am I going to do with you?_ Artemis thinks, her smile fading. Her thoughts flit to the mask in the room upstairs and the belt hidden in her apartment and the favors she's going to have to call in to get to the other artifacts. There would have been less questions if it'd been just her, going around the world, trying to outrun people with far more resources and far less morals. Bringing Wally only complicated things that were already headache-inducing enough on their own. Then again, she admits, not bringing him would leave her... well, she's not exactly sure of that. It's a little _too much_ to think about what happens _next_ at the moment. _One thing at a time_ , she tells herself.

Artemis waits for Wally to finish his story before she moves onto the next step of her plan.

"Hey, Megan," Artemis begins, "wig or haircut?"

* * *

"Why couldn't you pick wig? You do know this is killing me, right?" Megan says, pausing her snipping to pout at the bathroom mirror.

"Your pink wig isn't exactly low-key," Artemis notes. "Besides, it's not your hair that's on the chopping block."

"True," Megan sighs, continuing her work on Artemis's hair, "but I live the long-haired life vicariously through you. It is kind of my hair."

"Your hair grows like a weed. Grow it out."

Megan tilts her head and tuts. "That's the thing. I love the short-haired life too much. Low maintenance, high versatility. Not something I want to give up anytime soon."

And yet Megan sighs sadly as she snips off the last lingering long strand of Artemis's hair.

Artemis watches in the mirror as Megan lifts the cut ponytail, holds it to the side of her head, and pouts into the mirror.

"Is this your way of telling me that you want a new wig for your birthday?" Artemis asks, making eye contact with Megan in the mirror.

"Yes," Megan says, quickly tossing the ponytail into the trash.

"Remember to act surprised."

"I will," Megan says, smiling as she runs her fingers through Artemis's new shoulder length hair one last time. "All done."

Artemis tosses her head and smiles into the mirror. It's been awhile since her head has felt so light. One step forward, a million to go.

Artemis catches Megan's smile drop as they make eye contact in the mirror again.

"What?" Artemis asks. "Too short?"

"No, it's perfect," Megan says, twisting the scissors in her hands. "It's just– I was thinking about your situation. You're going to some pretty great lengths to do– whatever it is you're doing. I can't stop thinking about Deathstroke. Whoever is mad at you wouldn't send him unless this was _really_ important. That's why I think we should tell Dick."

"Megan, _no_ ," Artemis says, wincing at her reflection. "Why would you even say that?"

Megan places the scissors on the sink and crosses her arms. "He's been chasing him for _years_. This is could be his last chance to catch him."

"He's been obsessing for years. I can't kick him down that rabbit hole _again,_ " Artemis says, standing up from her seat and turning to face Megan. "I wouldn't even have to kick him. He'd jump right in."

"I'm serious, Artemis. I hear things and they're not good things. Dick is struggling right now. He could use a win."

"And what if he doesn't win?" Artemis asks sharply. "Sorry, Megan, but no. I'm not going to be the reason Kori's kid doesn't have a dad. Dick can't know."

Megan bites her lip before she asks, "What about Kaldur? He can help you. Call Atlantis and–"

"I am _definitely_ not dragging Kaldur into this mess," Artemis says roughly, running a hand through her hair.

Megan is silent for a moment, but Artemis watches the frustration build up in her eyes.

"Artemis, don't you get it?" Megan snaps. "You're going to make me say it? I don't think you can do this alone!"

"I'm not doing this alone!" Artemis shouts back. "You made sure of that."

Megan shakes her head. "You need more help than Wally can give you."

"Then _you_ should come with me," Artemis says, quick and loud, without thinking. "You come with me and we do it like the old days. Wally can hide out at your place. You can take his seat on the plane."

"You know I can't do that," Megan says, her face pinched in pain. "My uncle is coming to visit tomorrow. If Wally is here, or if I'm not... There are too many things out of place right now. He'll know something is up and tell the League."

Artemis crosses her arms. "Then let me do what I want in what little peace I will have lugging Wally around with me. That's already put a chink in my plan."

"And what _is_ the plan, Artemis?" Megan asks roughly.

"Megan, I can't–"

"At least tell me where you're going after you leave Gotham," Megan pleads. "Tell me what you're _doing_. I trust you with my life and I know that you're doing all of this for a good reason, but you have to know by now that plans rarely work out for us. We work better together."

"We _worked_ better together," Artemis says, shaking her head as she walks past Megan towards the door. She turns around and faces Megan once more. "Don't tell _anyone_ , Megan. It's for the best. I'm going to re-pack my bag."

"I think you're making a mistake," Megan says, narrowing her eyes.

Artemis bites her lip for a long second before she turns towards the hall, starts walking, and merely says, "Thanks for the haircut."

* * *

Artemis enters the bedroom with silent footfalls and waits in the doorway, not too keen on bringing her bad energy into an already tense room.

"Why are you creeping?" Wally asks, zipping a side pocket shut on his bag.

"I'm not creeping," Artemis says, tentatively approaching his bed. "Ready yet?"

"Almost," he answers shortly, irking her.

"You know you don't have to go with me," Artemis reminds him, watching him shove a pair of socks into his pack with far more force than necessary. "Megan can still take you somewhere safe. You can stay there until this is over."

Wally doesn't acknowledge her again until he's cleared the bed of all the clothes Megan found for him. He zips the last open zipper shut, takes his time lifting the backpack off the bed, and passes Artemis to get to the doorway.

"I'm still mad at you," he says plainly, as he walks by her.

"I know," Artemis says, following him.

"Just making sure you knew that," Wally says, nodding.

Artemis's eyes narrow as she walks to stand in front of him. "Okay? Thanks for adding yet another item to the list of reasons you should not go."

"I'm going. For Barry. That's the end of it," he says, walking around her to get out of the room.

Artemis's brow furrows. There isn't much margin for error here and _that_ kind of insubordinate attitude will get them in trouble. She doesn't need to be worrying about Megan _and_ Wally messing with her plans even more.

"If you're coming, there have to be rules," Artemis says quickly, following him out the door.

Wally turns around to raise a brow at her. "Rules?"

"Yeah, _rules_ ," Artemis says with more confidence. "I'm in charge here. You don't leave my sight without telling me where you're going. I don't need you getting kidnapped because you snuck off to take a piss."

"That was one time!"

Artemis presses on to cover her bases. "And unless I say otherwise, you do not, I repeat, do not say anything to _anyone_ in the League about what we're doing. The only people we're keeping in the loop were on the old team, and even then, only if it's absolutely necessary."

"I can see why you're worried about that," Wally says, irritated, "because I talk to Leaguers _so_ much these days."

Artemis glares at him. "I mean it. We come across _anyone_ in the League, we have to split up and you need to have a reason to be wherever we are at the time that doesn't have anything to do with _anything_."

Wally scoffs. "Why are you so sure we're going to run into someone? Didn't you tell Oracle you were going to California? They won't be looking for us."

"No, they won't. But they are looking for Barry, and Oliver, and Hal, also known as the people _we_ are trying to catch up with," Artemis explains. "Our paths will cross. It's only a matter of time."

"And we have to split up _because_?"

"How would you explain us being in the same room, let alone travelling together?"

"Right," he admits, rolling his eyes. "Anything else?"

"I'm sure I'll think of more."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," he says, walking out the door and towards the stairs.

"Ha-ha," Artemis deadpans, walking behind him.

"Artemis. I have a rule, too," Wally says seriously, suddenly turning around on the stairs to face her at eye level.

Artemis's next words catch in her throat as Wally holds her gaze and firmly says, "No more lies."

"No more lies," slips out of her mouth in something not much louder than a whisper.

Wally watches her face for a long moment before he nods, turns around, and keeps walking down the stairs.

Artemis lingers at the top of the staircase for an extra second or two, letting the weight of Wally's words settle in her mind, and quietly repeats to herself,

"No more lies."


	6. Chapter 6

The ride to the airport is filled with tension and bad talk radio. Megan and Wally try to keep a conversation going in the beginning, but it quickly fizzles out once they realize the only things left to talk about are old wounds and missed time. Artemis, having volunteered to sit in the back seat of Megan's hybrid, cradles her backpack in her lap and tries her best to spend the time usefully, instead of chewing at her lip to keep from apologizing for being harsh with Megan. As she stares out the window, Artemis ponders the question that kept her up most of the night.

Where _were_ they heading after Gotham? There are options, four of them, but this is a game of chance she can't afford to lose. Not for the first time, Artemis grits her teeth and curses Hal and Oliver for not taking her with them. There is only so much she can guess about their plan before her luck runs out.

Artemis tightens the strap of the worn Gotham Knights baseball cap on her head and sighs. She traces the frayed edge of the bill with her fingertips and tries to look on the bright side. She never thought she'd see this hat again but _of course_ Megan stowed it away before their base had been demolished.

Before they left the house, Artemis spent nearly an hour going through the box in Megan's basement that held most of the things that had been in their room in the Cave. A picture here, a research log there, and an old, frayed hat. Tiny pieces of the years they'd spent together tucked away in a corner where they'd never be touched or harmed by anything but time. _Safe_.

Artemis's brow pinches as she glances at Megan's concentrated profile. Keeping things safe had been how Megan coped in the wake of the dissolution of the team. It must have come so naturally to try and do the same once Artemis stepped through her door.

Megan catches Artemis watching her in the rear view mirror.

"We're coming up on the terminal," Megan notes, breaking the silence and her eye contact.

"Cool." Artemis sits up straighter and holds her bag a bit tighter.

When Megan pulls into the drop-off lane and stops in front of the sliding doors of the terminal, Wally gets out of the car first. Megan goes second, popping the trunk. Artemis knows she should get out, get up, and get into the airport as soon as possible, but something keeps her in her seat, unable to open the door. As soon as she steps out of this car, she'll be just like her hat is now that she pulled it out of the box. _Exposed_.

The car door opens and snaps Artemis out of her own thoughts.

Wally leans against the door as he asks, "Coming, Your Majesty?"

Artemis takes a breath as she slowly gets out of the car. "Yeah, yeah."

She hoists her bag over her shoulder and Wally closes the door behind her. After giving Megan a short goodbye hug, Wally saunters towards the sliding doors and enters the airport. Megan looks at Artemis for a moment before she slowly reaches into the back of the car, pulls something long and black out, and shuts the trunk.

"It's supposed to rain when you get there," Megan says, not meeting Artemis's eyes as she holds out an umbrella.

Artemis reaches for it but just as her fingers skim the nylon canopy of the umbrella she takes a step forward and engulfs Megan in a tight hug. It doesn't take long for Megan to hug her back.

"Sorry," Artemis whispers in Megan's ear.

"Me too," Megan replies tightly. "You can do this. Call me if you need _anything_."

They release each other slowly and Artemis bets her face looks just as uneasy as Megan's does.

Artemis swallows and takes the umbrella. She puts her free hand on Megan's shoulder.

"Stop hiding," Artemis says firmly, holding Megan's gaze. "Take your own advice. Go clear the air."

Megan's brows pinch for a second before she exhales slowly and weakly smiles. "Be careful, please."

Artemis laughs shortly and walks backwards towards the terminal doors. She gives Megan a half wave and smiles.

"You know me."

* * *

The flight from O'Hare to Gotham International is only two hours and twenty-six minutes long. Artemis spends a full hour of the flight flipping through the pages of her notes and occasionally glancing back at Wally, occasionally catching him watching her from his seat ten rows back. _That's what you get when you're a stowaway_ , Artemis thinks. When the elderly woman in the aisle seat gets up to use the restroom, Artemis uses the extra room in her row to pull down both tray tables and lay out a world map Megan tucked into her bag.

Artemis slowly traces her finger along the map, following their path from Central City to Chicago to Gotham. Her finger lingers over Gotham and she chews at the inside of her lip. _One_ , she thinks, sliding her finger over the Atlantic and landing on Lisbon, Portugal. _Two_. She moves her finger to Bordeaux, France.

"No," Artemis whispers to herself, shaking her head as she slides her finger back to Gotham.

She scans the map again, slowly moving her finger back and forth between Gotham and France. _Where'd you put it, Hal?_ Her eyes narrow as she trails her finger further south. _He_ _ **would**_ _, but did he?_

She puts her finger back on Gotham. _Nevermind where you put it. Where are_ _ **you**_ _, Hal?_

Artemis groans softly, sinks deeper into her seat, and slowly traces triangles between Gotham, Portugal, and France. _Sure, let's all just disappear. Artemis'll find us. No need to give her a heads up. She'll know what to do. Solid plan, guys. Great job._

Sensing another's presence, Artemis peers up from the map and towards the aisle.

"You're not Darlene," she notes, folding the map into her lap to make room for Wally, who slides into the seat next to her.

"Funny story," Wally starts, moving the seat into a fully upright position. "My neighbor back there has been chatting me up since takeoff. Turns out he decided to join his wife Darlene on vacation a _little_ too late, so they couldn't get seats together. She said hi, I offered to switch, _and–_ "

" _And_ here you are." Artemis interrupts him, nodding shortly. "Great. This works. Now we can go over the plan."

"Sweet," Wally says, pushing his pack under the seat in front of him with his feet. "Alright, what's the plan?"

"Well, first, we go to my apartment," Artemis explains, her finger tracing a figure eight on the map in her lap. "We pick up what we need while we're there, but we have to be quick about it. I wouldn't be surprised if someone has eyes on it. Once we have what we need, we do whatever we can to put distance between us and Gotham. Then we focus on finding Hal."

Wally turns in his seat to face her more directly. "You mean Hal _and_ Barry and Oliver, right?"

Artemis bites the inside of her cheek before shaking her head. "I meant _Hal_. I have no clue where his piece of the armor is or how to get it. We have Barry's, we'll get mine in Gotham, and I already know where to find Oliver's."

" _You_ told me every minute is another minute Barry's in danger," Wally says as if she'd forgotten, his expression tight. "Why aren't we looking for him, too?"

"Because _you_ told _me_ you _just_ saw him," Artemis explains. "If he felt safe enough to go to Bolt, I- we have to believe he can take care of himself for now. Did he say anything to you? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Wally rapidly clicks the recline button on the armrest with his thumb as he shakes his head. "Him _being_ _there_ was out of the ordinary. We don't see each other outside of family things."

Artemis swallows, glancing out the window to her right. _That's a future-me problem._

Wally keeps talking, straining to remember. "He, uh, ordered a vodka soda? Said he was passing through the city because he was on his way to a conference or a meeting or something."

Artemis quickly turns back to him and follows up. "What kind of conference?"

"I didn't ask," Wally says, shrugging unhelpfully. "I remember this huge group of bikers came in after that, so it got busy."

Artemis, in her fast-paced finger figure-eighting, accidentally pokes a small tear in the map. She folds her hands in her lap before she asks, "What else did he say?"

"I really don't remember, Artemis," Wally groans softly, sinking into his seat. "I was trying my best not to listen."

"Great," Artemis says shortly, looking down at the crumpled map in her lap. "A conference... that's got to be something. He wouldn't risk seeing you, being in _town_ , if it weren't important. What did he do there? I'm missing something. Or maybe I _missed_ something back at Bolt."

Wally sighs before he turns in his seat and asks, "Did Barry tell you they'd go after the mask first?"

Artemis shakes her head. "No, he thought it was a potential target, but we didn't know."

"Then how'd you know to come when you did?" Wally asks, and it's not a question she'd been ready to answer.

 _How'd she know to come?_ The truth is: she hadn't. She'd simply made a hasty midnight judgment call, one governed less by logic and more by overwhelming concern, but that's a bit much to lay out there while in a tin can thirty thousand feet in the air. It's fine. There are plenty of other truths to be told in its place.

Artemis avoids Wally's eyes, stares down at the map, and matter-of-factly states, "You were a soft target."

"That's what they thought," Wally says, smirking as he leans back in his seat.

Artemis laughs before sending him a look. "Slade would've turned you into dust if I hadn't been there."

"Or I might've avoided massive property damage," Wally retorts. "What's his deal? Seems like he's been around the bad guy block a few _thousand_ times."

"He has," Artemis answers, "but I'm not the best person to talk to about him. I've known of Slade since I was a kid and I think the stories are more tame than the truth. I've read files on him, but in terms of direct contact, that was only the third time I've seen him. Megan could've given you better stories. He was a _huge_ thorn in the team's side, starting a few months after you left. He was on a mission to break them up and get to the League through them. He almost succeeded, more than a few times. If only he'd known we'd do it ourselves soon enough, maybe he could've spared them the drama."

Artemis soaks in her own words as Wally starts fiddling with the recline button again. The team she'd returned to after her stint in the Shadows was nothing like the one she'd had. There were cracks in their foundation, and Slade had exploited every single one of them. By the time she regained some sense of the damage he'd done, it was too late to fix it.

Artemis watches Wally quickly avoid her gaze and that one motion tells her more than he'd like. She has to restrain herself from reaching for his hand.

"It was for the best," Artemis adds, careful to keep from dredging up even more old wounds.

"Sure," Wally says, nodding slowly.

Artemis sighs and looks down at the map. "If Slade wants the mask, he'll want the full set. We can't let him do that, which is why we _really_ need to find the guys."

Artemis looks from the new hole in the map to the edges of the magazines in the seat pouch in front of her. Her gaze moves lower, honing in on the open zipper of her bag at her feet.

"Where in the _world_ is Barry Allen?" Wally half-heartedly asks the headrest in front of him, crossing his arms.

Artemis narrows her eyes at her bag, as the edge of the mask sticks out of its confines. She leans down to push it back in, but as soon as her fingers hit the hard surface of the mask, she changes course. Artemis pulls the mask out of the bag and holds it in her lap. The unnerving sharp-toothed smile carved into the front stares back at her as she traces its edges with her fingertips. The cool, smooth surface feels a lot better to the touch than the map did, until her finger catches on something sharp.

"Ow," Artemis says, examining the new cut on her finger. "The hell?"

As she examines the edges of the mask, she finds a stray shard of glass leftover from their earlier flight from the bar sticking to a piece of clear tape. The tape, a piece as long as her thumb, sticks to the back of the mask. _Holy shit._

"Look," Artemis says, flicking away the glass that had cut her and peeling the tape away from the mask with care.

"What is it?" Wally asks, taking the mask from her as she takes a look at the tape.

It's a thin piece, nearly translucent. Artemis holds the plastic by its edge between her fingernails, careful not to place her fingers on the adhesive. When she holds the tape to the light of the window beside her and looks at it closely, she can just barely make out a series of pencil-written numbers across the bottom. Artemis doesn't hear the sound of her own gasp as she realizes what the coded numbers mean. She's too busy thinking, _I'm a goddamn idiot._

"The map, Wally, get the map," she hurriedly whispers, practically buzzing in her seat. She sticks the tape to her armrest.

Wally pulls the map from her lap and opens it up in front of them. "What is it?"

Artemis ignores his question and asks her own as she pours her attention over the map. "You said it got busy? Was he ever alone at the bar?"

"Well, yeah, Bart was gone for a group project or something so I was taking table orders that night. Plus, I wasn't exactly raring for a riveting conversation with my uncle, Artemis."

"Yeah, well, while you were doing that," Artemis says, smiling as she pokes a finger at a point on the map and nearly puts another hole in it, "he was telling me where to find him."

Wally follows her finger and tilts his head. "Greece?"

"Mykonos," Artemis quietly confirms, the pieces coming together in her mind.

"So he's, what, on vacation while the rest of us are dodging bullets?" Wally asks, half-joking before his eyes go wide. "No, wait– the conference–"

"They're meeting there," Artemis interrupts as it hits her.

Wally nods quickly. "All three of them."

"And us," Artemis adds, before she grins. "If Barry left that for me to find, it could mean Hal and Oliver went to collect their own artifacts before going. We could head straight to Mykonos from Gotham."

"And how are we going to do that?" Wally asks, grinning back at her.

Artemis's high is immediately doused as she realizes just how they're going to have to do that.

"Very, _very_ carefully."

* * *

"Where'd you get that?" Wally asks, the very instant Artemis pulls the umbrella out of her bag.

"Megan," Artemis says, opening the umbrella to shield them from the onslaught of rain outside the terminal.

They walk beneath it to reach the covered waiting area and wait for their turn at a taxi. It doesn't take too long for the line to die down, but even so, Artemis's foot doesn't stop tapping against the pavement until Wally's well into the cab. Artemis hands him her bag and collapses the umbrella, but before she can enter the taxi a familiar voice stops her in her tracks.

"Artemis?!"

 _They_ _ **were**_ _looking for you._

"Turn the other way and don't say a word," Artemis commands Wally in a hurried whisper, shutting the door to the cab in an instant.

She schools her expression before she turns around with a surprised smile, sees who's spotted her, and thinks: _Fuck_.


End file.
